APS in court to block corporation commissioner from grilling executives

Bob Burns explains Tuesday why he was the lone vote against selecting Tom Forese as new chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission /Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer

By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times

The attorney for the state’s largest electric company told a trial judge Wednesday he has no authority to decide whether a utility regulator can grill her client’s executives.

Mary O’Grady argued that any dispute over how the Arizona Corporation Commission decides issues can go only to the state Court of Appeals. More to the point, she said that legal question could not be decided until after the pending rate hike request by Arizona Public Service is decided.

But Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Kiley pointed out that APS just last year asked him to quash the subpoenas that Bob Burns had issued on APS and parent company Pinnacle West Capital Corp.

“Isn’t APS’ position here inconsistent with the position it had previously taken?” he asked.